To see if you have any hidden Instagram messages, tap the inbox icon at the top right of the app. You can also just swipe to the right.

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Business Insider

If you have any hidden messages, a little blue bar will appear at the top of your inbox saying you have “message requests.”

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Business Insider

Tap that blue bar, and you’ll see another inbox with your message requests. “These are from people you don’t follow,” according to Instagram. “They’ll only know you’ve seen their request if you choose Allow.”

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Business Insider

You can delete requests from this inbox without opening them or take a peek and decide to notify the sender that you’ve seen the message.